New Cadwalader Park sign in Trenton doesn't sit well with panel

Michael Mancuso/The TimesA new sign welcomes visitors to Trenton's Cadwalader Park but was not approved by the landmarks commission

TRENTON — The city’s Landmarks Commission for Historic Preservation last night ruled against the city’s new Cadwalader Park sign, with members questioning the historical accuracy and appropriateness of its size, design and materials.

The only problem? The sign’s already up.

The commission voted 3-2 to reject the design for the entryway of the historic park and in a second motion, voted 3-2 again to urge the city to immediately take it down.

The $17,000 aluminum sign spans the Parkside Avenue entrance of Cadwalader Park, which is listed on both the state and national registers of historic places, and resembles the city’s iconic “Trenton Makes” bridge. It was installed at the end of June and called “beautiful” by Mayor Tony Mack.

“I think the sign is a great thing for the park,” Mack said in June. “We’ve had people visit Cadwalader Park and couldn’t find the entryway.”

But state officials, residents and city council members called foul almost immediately after the sign went up.

The city failed to garner approvals from the Landmarks Commission or the state preservation office before erecting the sign, ignoring what critics called an important function of the historic preservation process.

“I don’t think anyone’s opposed to having a sign at Cadwalader Park,” Councilman Zach Chester said last night. “But clearly this commission did not have the opportunity to be a part of the process. For this administration to just erect a sign, bypassing all the rules and regulations — I’m talking city rules and regulations — is appalling.”

Yesterday’s Landmarks ruling follows a determination by the state Historic Preservation Office that the sign “constitutes an encroachment on this historic property,” according to a letter from the office dated July 20. In the letter, administrator Daniel Saunders said the city’s application for the sign must come before the Historic Sites Council at its Aug. 16 meeting.

Charles Hall, a Trenton Water Works employee who has been transferred to the recreation division, presented the sign application to the commission. He apologized for not following protocol and initially asked the panel to postpone its decision until August.

After the commission voted, he declined comment on the decision. Rejected applicants can appeal a commission decision, assistant city attorney Peter Cohen said.

Some argued the inspiration of the Trenton Makes bridge, built in 1935, clashed with the more Victorian feel of the 19th century park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and ignored historically sensitive recommendations made in the park’s master plan.

“Emulating the Trenton Makes bridge, that’s symbolism for industry and engineering,” commission member Glenn Modica said. “But that kind of symbolism isn’t appropriate in that park. The park itself is a symbol, it’s the only one in the state designed by Olmsted. Its history transcends the city.”

Commission member Carol Rogers, one of two dissenting votes, said she didn’t think the sign was so bad, and she said it started a “dialogue” around design and 21st century updates for the historic park.

Other residents and council members have questioned why the cash-stripped city spent $17,000 on a new sign, an expenditure council members said they never approved.

Even the sign’s creator, George Zienowicz of Trenton-based Zienowicz Sign Co., now has problems with the sign. He said the city has yet to pay him in full. Zienowicz said he is still owed $7,000, and numerous calls and e-mails to City Hall have gone unanswered.

“I’m a businessman,” he said. “I want my money. I’m not really concerned, I have no comment on which way the Landmarks Commission decides. That’s why they’re there. I just want to get paid.”